Friday, July 20, 2012

Body image.  Everyone has one or more hang ups about their body.  Doesn’t seem to matter if they’re a 10 plus on the rating scale.  Even those individuals have insecurities about how they look.  How sad.

I was talking with a girlfriend last night who’s five foot tall.  She has no hang ups about her height, but, after having her children, her husband had the audacity to tell her she was no longer pretty.  That her stretch marks, the very marks created on her body by their children growing inside her, made her unattractive.

WTH?! 

Thankfully, she saw the light and the marriage ended after he cheated on her.  There’s another happy ending to this story.  My girlfriend’s been taking Rumba classes and is thrilled with how much body sculpting is happening while she’s having fun.  She shared with me how she went to an event with a bunch of other women the other day, women she’s always thought were prettier and in better shape than her.  While looking around, my girlfriend smiled as she scanned the ladies and noticed that she was equally pretty and in better shape than many.

So what happened?  Did my girlfriend magically transform into a beautiful swan overnight?  No.  Basically, she got rid of her husband—an individual who daily poisoned her mind and derailed her self-confidence by being mean to her.  When a person, any person, is forced to live in negative surroundings, sooner or later, that negativity seeps into the fibers of their mentality, making them think less of themselves, as was the case with my girlfriend.  Get rid of the negative influence, surround yourself with positive, respectful people and you’re self-image is bound to soar to new heights.

Does this mean a person won’t still have body image insecurities?  No.  Unfortunately, the media taints our perception of what beauty—true beauty—is as they drive home the message that unless a person is beyond flawless then they aren’t beautiful. 

Tune in tomorrow to read more about what constitutes true beauty.